Investigating the impacts of justice-focused environmental education
Location
PANEL: Sociology Honors Pt. II
Wilder 101
Moderator: Greggor Mattson
Document Type
Presentation - Open Access
Start Date
5-1-2026 4:30 PM
End Date
5-1-2026 5:30 PM
Abstract
This research investigates the impacts of justice-focused environmental education on students’ emotions surrounding climate change and engagement in pro-environmental behaviors. I argue that bringing strategies of social justice education into environmental education by centering environmental justice topics can help focus on personal and emotional dimensions of climate change. This mixed methods study involved an educational intervention through a voluntary 12-week Climate Justice course, and utilized pre/posttest surveys and 11 in-depth interviews. For the purpose of this presentation, I will focus on one aspect of my broader honors research project about why the course promoted hope among students: learning that other people also cared deeply about climate issues, both in the context of organizations working toward climate solutions and in the context of their peers in the course. Participants noted that it was inspiring to learn how many people in the world were actively engaged in climate action in so many different ways. More notable, however, was how students were able to develop hopeful mindsets through interactions with their peers in the course. Honest and open classroom discussions about students’ emotions regarding climate change allowed students to be vulnerable and share with others how they felt about climate change. The discussions and community that developed among students helped illuminate that students were not alone in caring about and being concerned with climate change, allowing their feelings to be validated by peers, and leading to increased hope and motivation to act.
Keywords:
Sociology, Climate change, Emotions, Environmental education
Recommended Citation
Lee, Meena, "Investigating the impacts of justice-focused environmental education" (2026). Research Symposium. 29.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/researchsymp/2026/presentations/29
Major
Sociology; Environmental Studies
Project Mentor(s)
Christie Parris, Sociology
2026
Investigating the impacts of justice-focused environmental education
PANEL: Sociology Honors Pt. II
Wilder 101
Moderator: Greggor Mattson
This research investigates the impacts of justice-focused environmental education on students’ emotions surrounding climate change and engagement in pro-environmental behaviors. I argue that bringing strategies of social justice education into environmental education by centering environmental justice topics can help focus on personal and emotional dimensions of climate change. This mixed methods study involved an educational intervention through a voluntary 12-week Climate Justice course, and utilized pre/posttest surveys and 11 in-depth interviews. For the purpose of this presentation, I will focus on one aspect of my broader honors research project about why the course promoted hope among students: learning that other people also cared deeply about climate issues, both in the context of organizations working toward climate solutions and in the context of their peers in the course. Participants noted that it was inspiring to learn how many people in the world were actively engaged in climate action in so many different ways. More notable, however, was how students were able to develop hopeful mindsets through interactions with their peers in the course. Honest and open classroom discussions about students’ emotions regarding climate change allowed students to be vulnerable and share with others how they felt about climate change. The discussions and community that developed among students helped illuminate that students were not alone in caring about and being concerned with climate change, allowing their feelings to be validated by peers, and leading to increased hope and motivation to act.
